Snow White (2025) (Christian Movie Review)

Snow White is a perfectly watchable remake that occasionally recaptures the original’s charm and even offers a few valuable updates to the familiar tale, though at times it unfolds more like a mediocre Disneyland play than an exciting fairytale. 

About the Film 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) is the latest in a long line of Disney classics to receive a live-action remake, and it arrives with plenty of baggage. It has been scorned as a corporate cash-grab (at best) and an assault on traditional values (at worst). Yet after years of controversy, it is almost anti-climactic that the film itself turns out to be…mostly fine? Snow White is a perfectly watchable remake that occasionally recaptures the original’s charm and even offers a few valuable additions to the familiar tale, though at times it unfolds more like a mediocre Disneyland play than an exciting fairytale.

The 1937 film is a beloved classic for a reason; it is as delightful today as it was nearly 90 years ago. But 90 years is a long time, and not all change is evil. Setting aside nostalgia, you don’t need to be a patriarchy-smashing, fourth-wave feminist to admit that there are aspects of the original that could use some polish (a nameless prince who is infatuated with a seemingly dead princess’ physical beauty and scours the land in order to kiss her corpse doesn’t pass the 2025 vibe test). Ironically, while the notion of “modern changes” has become a rallying cry against the film (with conservative outlets like The Daily Wire vowing to make their own true version), many of the alterations to the story positively address criticisms Christians have leveled against Disney for decades, such as the promotion of superficial beauty and shallow, love-at-first-sight romance (see “themes” below).

Where Snow White goes awry is in its execution of those changes. Reimagining Snow White as a woman defined more by the fairness of her virtuous character than by her physical beauty is a worthwhile alteration. Yet Hollywood struggles to portray this type of female lead in a way that isn’t heavy-handed and pretentious (ala Barbie and Captain Marvel). While the original Snow White was a maternal, nurturing figure, the reimagined Snow White spends most of her screentime lecturing others.

Rachel Zegler is a talented actress with an angelic singing voice, but she is unable to do much with what she is given. Her wooden performance lacks the warmth of her animated counterpart. Opposite Snow White, the prince has been replaced by a roguish, Robin Hood-inspired outlaw, a far more interesting character (he even has an actual name!). But the film loses its momentum whenever it veers from the original storyline to focus on a subplot about a rebellion to overthrow the Queen and take back the kingdom.

Classic songs like “Heigh-Ho” and “Whistle While You Work” make a triumphant return. Aside from a standout new tune, “Waiting on a Wish,” the new songs range from forgettable to downright bad. It doesn’t help that Gal Gadot, whose performance is even more wooden than Zegler’s, is given multiple villain songs as the Evil Queen, even though she is not a gifted singer.

Yet, more than many of the other recent remakes, Snow White’s vibrant colors and cartoonish appearance captures the enchanted, storybook aesthetic of the original. It doesn’t look real, but it works within the fairytale context. Less convincing are the Seven Dwarves. The character redesigns take some getting used to, and the animation appears half-finished (perhaps due to a mid-production decision to swap live action with CGI versions). Appearances aside, the characters remain as amusing and fun as ever. The film is at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Snow White and the Dwarves.

At a time when many Christians view Hollywood as “the enemy,” I may be expected to decry the “modern” changes to the original, but I honestly don’t have many major gripes about them. Even so, whether it is Hollywood’s fault or merely a byproduct of the increasingly jaded attitudes of today’s audiences, the film simply lacks the “magic” of Disney’s golden age. No, Snow White is not an awful film. In fact, it may rank in the upper tier of Disney’s live-action remakes (granted, that bar has been set extraordinarily low). Despite the online culture-war rhetoric swirling around it, the film doesn’t “desecrate” the legacy of the original or “assault” conservative values. Its issues are far less interesting. Snow White is often as lifeless as its titular heroine after she bites into the poisoned apple. Unfortunately, in true modern Disney fashion, there’s no charming prince around to save the day.  

“The Fairest One of All”

Part of what makes the culture-war rhetoric surrounding this film unhelpful is that the ire is mostly misdirected. For example, a mean-spirited meme has been circulating the internet comparing the two lead actresses and implying that Gadot—considered one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood—is clearly miscast as a character who is concerned about Zegler usurping her claim as “the fairest one of all.” But the meme misses the film’s main point: beauty and “fairness” are not merely skin deep.

The decision to cast Rachel Zegler, who is Latina, as Snow White has also been widely criticized, given that the original character is named, at least in part, for her white skin. The film sidesteps this issue by introducing a backstory about how the princess was born during a snowstorm. Though a bit contrived, it fits with the film’s recontextualization of what it means to be “fair” and “beautiful.” 

Throughout the film, Snow White wears a pendant around her neck that is engraved with the words “Fearless, Fair, Brave, True.” These virtues represent the ideals she strives to embody. She ultimately wins other characters’ admiration not due to her physical appearance but through kindness and empathy.    

In that way, Snow White echoes the teachings of Scripture: “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:3-4).

On several occasions, The Evil Queen compares Snow White to a rose, a fleeting and fragile beauty. Yet she fails to see that her own vain beauty will perish, while Snow White’s virtuous inner beauty will endure.